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More than half of American teenagers volunteered last year, a rate that almost doubles that for adults, a new study says.

The study, conducted by the Corporation for National and Community service, the U.S. Census Bureau and Independent Sector, analyzed volunteer activities of youth ages 12 to 18 and found they contributed a total of more than 1.3 billion hours of service in 2004."

After flying back to Norton Dec. 1 from Waveland, Mississippi where they were aiding with hurricane Katrina relief efforts, Norton-based Tulpe Lodge Boy Scout members plan to drive back in January. Dustin Benoit, leader and member of Tulpe Lodge Order of the Arrow, of Scoutings National Honor Society and the Boy Scouts of America, said he expects to return to Waveland with one or two other members of the Tulpe Lodge in a truck carrying hurricane relief supplies between Jan. 7 and Jan. 15. "

"It is better to give than to receive' is a lesson the Cashman Elementary School fourth-graders in Maria Ferrandini's class took to heart this holiday season. 'In class we read 'The Joy of Giving' by John Greenleaf Whittier and discussed the whole idea that giving gives you back more,' Ferrandini said. 'Then I said to them, 'I want you to think for 24 hours and come up with ideas of what you can do to make a difference.'' The next day, the fourth graders were bubbling over with ideas, including a food drive, preparing a turkey dinner for a family, and writing a school newspaper, which they would sell and donate the proceeds to a charity. The class voted and the newspaper idea won hands down.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

"When she died Jan. 4, 2004, almost $500,000 had been raised to grant the wishes of those 155 children. That amount grew to more than $1 million just two weeks later, following the first Celebration of Hope fundraising gala held in Charlotte in honor of the girl.

Then, six months later, Ali Spizman of Sandy Springs heard of Hope's selfless act from the Make-A-Wish Foundation after researching charities to which she could donate part of the proceeds from a line of handbags that she was designing.

``She wanted to be famous, she wanted the world to know her,'' said Spizman, now a 19-year-old freshman at Indiana University. ``That's where I come in.''
"

Brown, a second grader at Red Sandstone Elementary School, answered almost 100 addition problems in five minutes on Nov. 18. Her performance raised $545 for the Red Cross and its continuing job of helping victims of Hurricane Katrina.

All the kids at Red Sandstone took math tests Nov. 18, raising $5,980 for hurricane relief."

It's Christmas Day, and like most Hawai'i families, yours has probably finished opening presents from friends and loved ones. This is certainly the time of year when we think about giving and the impact that it has on others. Every holiday season, we are besieged with pleas from worthy charities that need our support. And as always, we as a community respond generously.

When we give, we embrace a meaning larger than ourselves. Making philanthropy a way of life in your family every day —not just at Christmastime — will give our children a solid foundation as they become our community's future donors, volunteers and leaders. Helping our children to understand the value gained by being an engaged member of the community and the incredible meaning that comes with giving back is one of the most important things that we can do for them, and for the whole community."

Monday, December 19, 2005

Salt Lake Tribune - Home & Family: "Another set of ABCs can help your children learn charity
Lessons of the seaon: Kids learn a lot by giving to less fortunate kids
The Associated Press
By Samantha Critchell
The Associated Press

The toughest balancing act for parents this season might not be the budget - although that can be pretty hard, too.
For many families, the tightrope is: How to make a holiday celebration happy and memorable for their children while teaching them about charity and humility?
And for the youngest kids, there's also the issue of Santa Claus. How come he might visit your house bearing a big bundle of gifts but doesn't do the same for everyone? "

Friday, December 16, 2005

Jewish Review: Teen givers attract notice: "A program for Jewish teenagers in Portland attracted a specialist in youth philanthropy all the way from Massachusetts this month to discuss how they might extend their reach into the future.

K'vod Wieder is the director of the B'nai Tzedek Teen Philanthropy Program within the Harold Grinspoon Foundation in West Springfield, Mass.

He was in Portland Dec. 11-13 to meet with members of the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation, a project of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, and Jewish community leaders here."

Congratulations to Joseph Gadus III, KE5BVQ, of Porter, Texas, who was recognized by Harris County Judge Robert Eckels and the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for his 'skills and maturity in providing radio communications' during the recent Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. An ARRL member, Gadus, 13, is an active member of the Montgomery County Amateur Radio Emergency Service. He also belongs to the Texas Emergency Amateur Communicators radio club in Kingwood and the Texas VHF-FM Society."

“Philanthropy” is a weighty word for someone who hasn’t even graduated from high school yet.

But the Carthage Community Foundation thinks it is never too early to start imparting philanthropic values into area youth. To help give real life application to the values they encourage, the foundation gave $1,000 to the Carthage High School Youth Empowerment Program to award to deserving youth organizations in Carthage."

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

And as the baristas collect those quarters, nickels, dimes and dollars into one big kitty, the really hard work begins: Deciding how to spread the money across the island to people and groups who need a bit of a boost to help youth.

This year, the baristas at Island Coffee House are not only pouring double shots, they’re calling the shots on how money from the Youth in Philanthropy project should be spent.
It makes sense, because some of the grant money the philanthropy project will disburse this year comes from tips collected at Langley’s youth-run espresso hotspot, said Susie Richards, the director of the South Whidbey Community Engagement Center.

The philanthropy program began four or so years ago when Richards was teaching English at Langley Middle School.
"

Lacombe Globe, Lacombe, AB: "Great wall honours two recent Lacombe grads
Two recent high school grads will be remembered in history as some of Alberta’s greatest kids…

By James Neeley
Globe Staff Writer
Tuesday December 13, 2005
Lacombe Globe — Two recent high school grads will be remembered in history as some of Alberta’s greatest kids.

Deryck Reade and Colin Jay Wibers are two of Alberta’s 100 Great Kids, a distinction the Province formally recognized during an unveiling of a special wall of honour at the Legislature on Dec. 6.

The wall, part of Alberta’s centennial celebrations, recognizes the 100 winners of the Great Kids Award given out by the province annually since 2000. The awards are given to youth between five and 18 for their outstanding volunteer contributions to their communities, their efforts in school and at home.

'I am very proud of these dynamic young Albertans,' said Premier Ralph Klein. 'They are one of the province’s finest attributes and a very positive indicator of its strength and vitality. As we celebrate Alberta’s centennial, it’s good to know the future of our province is in great hands.' "

(Washington, D.C., November 30, 2005) -- First Lady Laura Bush today joined a group of local high school students at a service-learning project to announce a new federal study that finds 55 percent of American teenagers volunteered last year – nearly double the rate of adults.

“I think it's really, really good news, and I'm very, very proud. I'm proud of this generation. I knew anecdotally that they were volunteering everywhere because I see young people volunteering wherever I go, but now this confirms it with the results of these studies,” said Mrs. Bush. “We know that volunteering can be taught, that helping people is something you can learn to do. And now we know that so many young people in the United States have learned that.”"

'We took Jenkins' curriculum, had banks come in and came up with a philanthropy section that hers lacked,' said Thexton. 'Students were all given a dollar to take and donate to philanthropic cause in Liberal. With close to 575 kids, the substantial amount money will be donated back to a specific cause."

When the doors opened at 8 a.m. Sunday at the Target store in San Ramon, the girls took off.

More than 200 of them, ages 12 to 18, excitedly grabbed carts and began scouring the aisles for their holiday gifts. With lists in hand, the girls, many wearing pink elf hats, looked for toys, books, clothes and household items.

Like most teenage girls, they glowed with the opportunity to shop for the holidays, but what made this shopping trip different was that the girls were buying gifts for people they did not know and will never get to meet.

The young ladies, members of the National Charity League, were making sure needy families who seek assistance from one area nonprofit have a happy holiday despite their difficult circumstances."

Organizations have since started at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Odessa College, Lee and Midland high schools and Odessa and Permian high schools. Lee and Midland high offer it as credit course.

Chris Hightower first got involved in SIP at Midland College and is now coordinator at Midland High. His group is 23 members strong, nearly doubling in size from last year."

By Howard McEwen
Enquirer contributor
Zoom The Enquirer/Patrick Reddy
Exterior of the University Center, which houses the student union at Northern Kentucky University.
ADVERTISEMENT

Classes from Northern Kentucky University designated a group of 20 organizations to receive up to $3,664 at the fall 2005 Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project Award Ceremony.

'Thanks to the generosity of the Manuel D. and Rhonda Mayerson Foundation, NKU students to date have awarded more than $300,000 in 193 projects involving about 150 nonprofit agencies over 5� years,' said sociology professor Joan Ferrante, the foundation's faculty coordinator."

By Samantha Critchell, Associated Press
December 12, 2005
NEW YORK - The toughest balancing act for parents this season might not be the budget - although that can be pretty hard, too.

For many families, the tightrope is: How to make a holiday celebration happy and memorable for their children while teaching them about charity and humility? And for the youngest kids, there's also the issue of Santa Claus. How come he might visit your house bearing a big bundle of gifts but doesn't do the same for everyone?"

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Several virtually unknown youth committees are silently having a solid impact on young people in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

The Youth Advisory Committees (YAC) Coordinator Paula McKerchie said recently that committees are already active in Brimley, Rudyard, DeTour, Pickford and Sault Ste. Marie, while more are “in the works” for Malcolm High School. Currently, some 72 youth, ages 12 to 18, are involved in the Chippewa County Foundation's YAC."

If kids are confused by the volume of people around town in furry red suits, explain they are pitching in and helping Santa out this time of year.

NEW YORK — The toughest balancing act for parents this season might not be the budget — although that can be pretty hard, too.

For many families, the tightrope is: How to make a holiday celebration happy and memorable for their children while teaching them about charity and humility?

And for the youngest kids, there's also the issue of Santa Claus. How come he might visit your house bearing a big bundle of gifts but doesn't do the same for everyone?
Santa needs helpers, says Susan McLaughlin, director of corporate philanthropy for Toys 'R' Us, and that's what parents could tell children both when they ask about giving to others and about the abundance of people in red furry suits."

More than 2 million children around the world live with the AIDS virus and fewer than 5 percent are being treated.

Now, hundreds of youths in India, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Romania and Mexico are picking up cameras to record images of lives disrupted by HIV and AIDS.

'My responsibility is to help these children - especially if their parents left them by the side of the road,' said Meroz Pillarisetty, 13, whose photographs are part of a New York exhibit, 'Picturing Hope: Through Their Eyes.'

Published On Monday, December 05, 2005 3:09 AM
By DORIS A. HERNANDEZ
Contributing Writer
Amid coffee and Milano cookies, Kennedy School Assistant Professor Asim I. Khwaja encouraged students to donate their time and energy as opposed to their money to relief efforts to help victims of the earthquake that struck Pakistan and India last October.

Khwaja reminded students at the event—sponsored by the South Asian Association—that the effects of disasters like earthquakes last for a long period of time. But the message that echoed throughout the discussion was that there is not one way to help the earthquake victims, but an infinite number of ways. "

Friday, December 02, 2005

Pegasus Awards give wings to dreams in Torrance: "Students in Rose DeSanto's South High School computer applications class have $5,000 for a scanner, digital video camera, tripod and memory cards. The students will use the new equipment to provide technical support for local nonprofit groups. They are planning to design a Web site for a German shepherd rescue organization and create promotional materials for the Sierra Club."

Considering the scope of events that had happened that day, this was just a little extra bonus. But maybe because it was smaller and less overwhelming, this was the item that made Sam bounce on his toes.

The gift card was intended to help the Breedens, who are currently residing in Stafford County, as they rebuild their lives after losing their home in hurricanes Katrina and Rita this year.
"

Through the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC), seventh- and eighth-graders, alongside Albion high school students, act as philanthropists within their community. The YAC is a subgroup of the Albion Community Foundation (ACF).

In 1968 a group of Albion residents started the ACF, making it one of 56 community foundations in Michigan. According to the ACF Web site, its goal is to enhance the quality of life for citizens, as well as for future generations by building a permanent community endowment.
"

Your child's eyes light up as someone stuffs a $20 bill into the red Salvation Army kettle.

Then come sidewalk encounters of a different kind: a passerby who drops only a few coins into the pot and another who looks the other way when approaching the red-aproned bell-ringers. About that time, your young volunteer mumbles something about adults who do not give 'enough,' or who 'don't care.'"

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

As we reported recently, students at Parry Sound High School (PSHS) raised nearly $1,500 that they contributed to helping people in earthquake-devastated Pakistan.

That’s an accomplishment that reminds us, yet again, how caring and creative the young people in our community can be, and we congratulate them on it.

The initiative these students showed in deciding to raise money to help people in desperate need, and the fundraising success they achieved, reminds us, too, that you don’t have to be rich, powerful, well-established - or even of voting age - to make a real difference in the world around you."

Prep Students Donate Time and Goods to Help Those Devastated by Hurricane Katrina

NEW YORK, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of New York students will travel nearly 2,000 miles to spread holiday cheer to areas along the Gulf Coast. Students from the Hewitt School, an independent preparatory school for girls on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, have coordinated a toy, food and clothing drive which will culminate December 7 when they personally deliver their gifts to the region.

The holiday campaign, which started two weeks ago, will provide for the needs of families impacted by Hurricane Katrina and also will help brighten the holidays for local children by providing toys to displaced families that might not have the means to secure gifts for their children. To date, more than 1,200 new toys including dolls, games, books, sports equipment, stuffed animals and arts and crafts kits have been collected."

Graduate students in professor Renee Irvin’s philanthropy seminar were given a rare opportunity this term: The chance to decide which local non-profit organization is most worthy of receiving the Faye and Lucille Stewart Foundation’s $10,000 award.

To help them arrive at a decision, they spent eight weeks researching organizations’ history, goals and services."

HUGHSON — Fox Road Elementary School students said goodbye to a longtime teacher Monday at an assembly where they met her family and gave a check to an organization committed to fighting the disease that killed her.

The students raised $2,600 in a Red Ribbon Week walk-a-thon for the American Cancer Society to honor Doris Moore, 58, who died in May after a 14-month struggle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma."

Monday, November 28, 2005

Just a reminder that some links require registration and may be available only for a limited time.
For Teenager, Volunteering Is Second Nature: "For Teenager, Volunteering Is Second Nature
Fauquier Girl Lauded For Preservation Work

Sarah Christian tutors younger students twice a week, helps out at her parents' nonprofit organization, started a conservation club at school, leads children's summer nature camps and, in years past, has sold her homemade peanut butter dog treats to help preserve the leafy Bull Run Mountains near her home in The Plains.

But lest you think the junior at Battlefield High School in Haymarket is simply stacking her rsum for college applications, consider this: Sarah says she hates school, with all of its testing and 'process.' She has no idea where she wants to go to college or what she wants to study. She hasn't the vaguest idea what she wants to be when she grows up."

The 3-year-old foundation recently helped organize a protest of Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirts that forced the $2 billion-a-year clothier to agree within a matter of days to pull the offending gear.

In the world of philanthropy where big money translates into clout, the tiny Women and Girls Foundation has quickly made a name for itself. With the foundation's backing, Pittsburgh City Council on Monday approved an ordinance that promotes the selection of women and ethnic minorities on public boards."

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

LA Daily News - Their Opinion:snip snip>> "well, we must do all we can to help these agencies continue to assist the needy. This is a great opportunity to set a good example for our sensitive and impressionable children and young adults. We must teach the next generation to be aware, accountable and devoted to doing the right and ethical thing. We must also demonstrate to our sons and daughters that America is an honorable and concerned nation. And we must prove to our impressionable offspring that we care about our disadvantaged citizens, that we will reach out a helping hand to our fellow man."

LAWRENCE -- To celebrate National Philanthropy Day, students from various Lawrence Township schools collected donations for the Growing Our Community's Caring project and established a Community Wish Center for the township's needy."

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Pueblo, Colorado U.S.A: "That changed when Pueblo native son Bill Hybl became a top executive. Now El Pomar’s CEO, he has expanded the reach of El Pomar through much of the state, and has programs involving both high school and college students in learning the business of philanthropy."

ORLANDO, Fla. - Anna Aleksandrova can't recall all the hours she has spent volunteering during the past four years.

She tutors students, judges middle-school science fairs and has spent her summers volunteering at the Orlando Science Center. As president of two service organizations, she sings Christmas carols at a retirement home and organizes parties for a Boys and Girls Club. But her favorite volunteer activity, she says, is returning to Teague Middle School in Altamonte Springs, Fla., to help the teachers who taught her English when she came here from Russia in seventh grade."

Thousands of young people in schools across Northern Ireland are going 'potty' in a bid to raise vital funds for a leading cancer charity.

The Mini Pots of Hope programme, launched earlier this year by Yellow Pages and Marie Curie Cancer Care, provides a fun opportunity for pupils to get their hands dirty by planting daffodils and taking them home in their own personally designed flower pots.

Up to 3,600 pupils from 47 primary schools across the province are currently planting and decorating their pots from the grow-your-own kits"

(Nov. 21, 2005) The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) is pleased to announce a partnership with 4-H to expand the understanding of philanthropy and fundraising among youth in communities across the United States."

Students in Miami-Dade County public schools know the meaning of philanthropy -- they have collected more for the United Way than any other school district in the country.

''We've had a long partnership with the Miami-Dade public school system,'' says Tammy Klingler, senior vice president for United Way's Miami-Dade chapter. ``No other school system comes close anywhere in the country.''

After Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, students wanted to help and Klingler says the United Way suggested collecting bottled water."

Some Quaker Valley High School students have set a lofty goal for themselves and the rest of the state's 501 school districts: Raise no less than $2.5 million by April for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Specifically, the students in Quaker Valley's Student Service Learning Center want the money to be used to rebuild a school or schools damaged or destroyed by the August hurricane that devastated New Orleans"

Not many 19-year-olds can say they may have single-handedly influenced an entire country, but Christina Fierro can.

Last year Fierro collected 131 bikes for Pedals For Progress, a nonprofit organization that gives used bicycles to people in underprivileged areas. The bikes were sent to Nicaragua, where they could help adults commute to work or children get to school, said AnnMarie Rolls, office manager for the New Jersey based organization."

Telegraph | News | Charity begins in schools: "Plans to encourage a charitable culture among young people by giving every secondary school �500 to put towards its own charity bank account were described as ridiculous economics last night."

Send us your work!: "GenerationPulse is a new virtual community for the Teens of New Orleans and other teens around the country who want to reach out to them. This website, to be launched in November/ December 2005, will be designed for youth and by youth. That is, whether you are a teen who has been directly affected by Hurricane Katrina or just one who cares about those who have been directly affected, we need YOU to send writing, art and photos to be published on the new GenerationPulse website starting this Fall/Winter.

Please submit writings (essays, poetry, prose, journal pages), visual art (digital, paintings, illustrations, doodles), photography, any combination of the above, along with anything else you have created and think would fit this website."

PITTSFIELD, Maine—Cianbro’s effort to help with disaster relief in the storm-wracked Gulf Coast region got a boost from area school children recently.

After Hurricane Katrina devastated the coastal regions of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama in early September, Cianbro CEO Pete Vigue pledged that the company would match every dollar its employees donated to the American Red Cross in the aftermath.

Cianbro team members weren’t the only ones inspired to do something to help. At the same time, students and teachers at Pittsfield’s Vickery and Manson Park elementary schools were organizing their own fundraising efforts. When they learned of Vigue’s pledge, they asked if Cianbro would match their own contributions as well—a challenge the company happily took up. "

Thursday, November 10, 2005

November 10, 2005LAWRENCE -- In celebration of National Philanthropy Day, the Lawrence Township School Foundation will accept donations of beds and bedding, children's books, coats, gloves, hats, canned goods, toiletries, diapers, couches and cash for groceries from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday at the foundation office, 5626 Lawton Loop E. Drive, on the west side of the Soldier's Memorial Chapel.

The donations are part of LTSF's effort to create a community wish center and get involved in the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana program, Growing Our Community's Character."

The Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona is looking for about a dozen girls to participate in a program that will teach them about philanthropy and grant writing.The program, called Unidas, is returning after a yearlong break to 'focus on nonprofit organizations, what role they serve in the community and how to develop a grant-making process,' said executive director Laura Penny.The girls should be enrolled in a Tucson high school, although Penny said those not in school are welcome to apply and possibly 'bring that kind of life experience to the group.'"

But to schoolchildren in Stillwater, 270 pounds of pennies (worth about $450) is translating into $9,000 in a trade with the Penny Harvest Program, which is coordinated locally by the Community Foundation of the Capital Region and the New York State Service Learning Leadership Institute.
Penny Harvest is a program that is intended to teach young people the value of philanthropy on America, "

I’m with stupid (Metro Times Detroit): "Last week, the squeaky-clean, yet oh-so-dirty retailer Abercrombie & Fitch found itself steeped in controversy once again. On Nov. 1 a group of high-school girls in Pennsylvania announced they were staging a “girlcott” of a series of the retailer’s baby Ts, emblazoned with such phrases as “Who needs a brain when you have these?” and the sisterhood-inspiring “Do I make you look fat?”

The teens, part of the Girls as Grantmakers youth philanthropy program, said the T’s are demeaning and derogatory, and asked A&F to pull them from shelves. A&F, which specializes in homogenized, all-American apparel in every shade of khaki known to man, has landed in hot water before, for its soft-core porn catalogs and a class-action federal discrimination lawsuit over its hiring practices. It’s also pulled offensive T-shirts in the past, like “Two Wongs make it white,” a shirt featuring two Asian men working at a laundry service."

Monday, November 07, 2005

Community service projects are helping young people learn to lead while meeting community needs through the Youth as Resources program of the Southgate-based Guidance Center.

Accomplishments of the groups include building a wheelchair ramp for a home, planning a carnival for 80 low-income children and providing a substance-abuse prevention series to fifth-grade students in Melvindale"

Friday, November 04, 2005

It feels like any high level board room in corporate America or a scene out of Donald Trump's 'Apprentice.' But it's not. It's an Acton-Boxborough Regional High School conference room and the powerful executives are students.
A new program called Youth in Philanthropy trusts $10,000 in the hands of teenagers who will analyze applications from nonprofit organizations in need and decide which should get the money. "

OF THE JOURNAL STAR
PEORIA - If Derek Bowen ever has the word 'philanthropy' on a vocabulary test, rest assured he'll know the definition.

In one year, the Manual High School junior devoted 78.5 hours to helping others. It would have been a commendable achievement for any full-time high school student. But only those who truly know Bowen know just how remarkable this achievement is for a youth to whom life has been less than kind."

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Newswise | Kids Helping Kids: Harnessing the Spirit of GivingNewswise — Are kids naturally generous? Many seem to be, but they all need guidance. Teaching about giving is an important step every parent can take toward raising responsible, caring children. Getting children on the right path at an early age is the focus of 26 Steps, a family philanthropy program launched recently by Children’s Hospital Boston. The program offers tips, tools, exercises and resources to help parents nurture the next generation of philanthropists, developing habits of independence, kindness, good judgment and responsibility.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

IDSnews.com: "An important staple of Gray's career has been his emphasis on philanthropy. His basic tenet is, 'The more you have, the more you should give.' Gray has stood behind his promise to give to others by donating all his speaking fees -- which can be upwards of $10,000 per engagement -- and royalties from the sales of his books to the Farrah Gray Foundation, www.farrahgrayfoundation.com, which helps fund entrepreneurial ventures by young individuals and after-school programs for inner-city students."

Monday, October 31, 2005

Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea: "harity Earns Michelle Wie a Round With Clinton
Michelle Wie added a round of golf with Bill Clinton to her precocious resume on Monday when she donated US$500,000 to a fund for victims of hurricane Katrina co-administered by the former U.S. president. The sporting summit took place at the Southern Highlands Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nevada. "

The youth philanthropy program makes grants based on themes such as female involvement in science and technology, female participation in politics, and bullying, cliques and stereotypes among girls. Twenty-three teenagers in the program are scheduled to conduct a boycott rally at Chatham College on Sunday afternoon to protest very provocative T-shirts by Abercrombie & Fitch.

They are upset about women's T-shirts with supposedly degrading messages. Among them: 'Who needs brains when you have these"

Over a million in funds to local causes inspired by, in honor of parents

By Johanna D. Wilson

The Sun News

'You don't have to be wealthy to be a philanthropist.'
Mike Gerald | Waccamaw Community Foundation

A little boy learned the essence of a big word - philanthropy - when he discovered his daddy wrote a check and saved a camp.

Jerry Bisgrove, now 60, was nine when John Bisgrove did what he had to do to save Camp Columbus in Auburn, N.Y.

'Nobody knew about what my father did except the good monsignor,' Bisgrove said. 'My father always did things in a very quiet way. If somebody in church was in trouble, you knew my father's hand was in it helping out in some way.'"

Friday, October 28, 2005

Tempe teenager Samantha Fox, her mother and a couple of friends came up with a great idea several years ago.

The Cinderella Affair, a prom-dress donation drive, has grown into a Valley-wide annual charity operation, collecting more than 2,000 prom dresses in 2005.

For this and many years of volunteer work with the National Charity League, the Corona del Sol High School senior will be presented with the United Way's East Valley Youth Volunteer of the Year Award on Thursday. Volunteering always has been a way of life for her, she said, but being selected for the award was a complete surprise. "

Teens and charity | csmonitor.com: "Teens and charityA Christian Science perspective on daily lifeMusicians and bands, participating in a program called 'You Got 2 Give 2 Get,' were giving free concerts for teenagers who agreed to donate four hours of their time to various charities. When they completed the required time, they were given concert tickets worth approximately $100.

The program encouraged teens to see the importance of including volunteerism in their lives - something, the article said, they probably wouldn't do on their own ('To get to the concert, help the neighborhood,' The Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 12)."

Joan Baez swings into town this week, attracting throngs of long-haired older fans along with the ghost of the socially-active sixties.

But recent tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes and mudslides are showing her can-do spirit didn't end with the passing of tie-dye. College students today are contradicting the lazy, apathetic and disconnected stereotypes frequently thrown on them. Students are getting involved."

The Maine Youth Action Network (MYAN) and the Youth Planning Team (YPT) would like to invite you to this year's 22nd Annual Peer Leadership Conference. On October 27 th and 28 th over 400 youth leaders and their advisors from all around the state of Maine will be coming together in Bar Harbor. 'Youth got Power, Keepin' it Alive!' this year's theme, comes from the power all youth have to make a difference, dream a dream, and to inspire themselves and others.

The Conference was planned by 15 YPT youth and their advisors, in collaboration with the Maine Youth Action Network. The YPT has been hard at work since early August taking care of all aspects of the conference to make sure that everything will go well on October 27th and 28th. From booking a keynote speaker to deciding what the theme of the conference will be, the YPT has been involved all the way. MYAN believes that the youth input for the conference will lead to one of the most successful conferences yet.

The Fenn School in Concord has announced that it is adding an innovative program to its existing series of student-based community service activities. An anonymous family has generously established a $100,000 endowed fund, named the Fenn Philanthropy Fund. This fund will enable the school to establish a program to teach eighth- and ninth-grade boys how to make informed and wise decisions when donating to charitable causes. After learning how to navigate through the many worthy charitable options, boys at Fenn will now have the opportunity to make a series of meaningful grants to non-profit organizations each year, supported by the annual income of the fund. The Fenn Philanthropy Fund will also supplement the school's existing outreach efforts in community service and student-based charitable fund raising."

More than 220 Vanderbilt University students went hungry for a day so that others do not have to.

For the third year in a row, non-Muslim students at Vanderbilt joined their Muslim classmates by fasting for 12 hours as part of Fast-a-Thon. Participating students pledged to abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset to raise money from sponsors for a charity."

www.newszap.com: "CRISFIELD — The American Red Cross of the Lower Eastern Shore recently lauded students at H. DeWayne Whittington Primary School for making one of the largest donations in the region to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Children at the school raised some $3,520, given to Red Cross disaster specialists Mary Jane and Ken Eldridge during an event in late September. Students, faculty, staff and their families contributed everything from paper money to personal penny-jar savings."

For the past six years, high school students from Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties have been making an impact on youth in our community by meeting once a month at the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore as part of a group called the Youth Foundation.

Sheila Chandrasekhara, a member of the class of 2000, designed the program during her senior year of high school in an effort to expose her fellow teenagers to philanthropy while at the same time bettering the community. The Youth Foundation is the advisory committee for the Youth Foundation Fund. The committee raises money to build the endowment and awards grants to support local programs that benefit youth."

MIDDLEBURY -- Using a little ingenuity, three students at Westover School have breathed new life into the school's 94-year-old Dorcas Fund.

Named for a Biblical woman who spent her life making clothes for the poor, the private school's Dorcas Fund has been used to benefit local and national charities since the school was founded in 1909, said Director of Publicity Joan Anthony.

Though the fund originally grew out of the proceeds from the school's annual Dorcas Fair, in recent years students have found ways to fund it using innovative fundraisers, such as lollipop sales, back-to-school baskets and alumae activities."

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in September, it sparked an outpouring of kid-generated fund-raising efforts for the storm victims.

In the past month, thousands of children across the country have collected their pennies, sold Mardi Gras beads, donated their baby-sitting money, sold lemonade, and held concerts -- raising millions of dollars for relief efforts."

LimaOhio.com: "Brittany, the daughter of Karen Puhlman, of Ottoville, and John Kleman, of Fort Jennings, is a state representative on the Youth Philanthropy Council of Ohio Parents for Drug Free Youth. The nonprofit council awards grants to local organizations that support safe, healthy, drug-free schools and communities. "

As part of The LaGrange Schools’s curriculum, the students participating in their own group volunteerism efforts, which are crated and planned by the children during their morning devotion and discussion period. "

Founded in May, the USF Women in Leadership and Philanthropy program seeks to educate young women about how to be leaders and philanthropists in their communities. The program's board includes prominent Tampa Bay area women including business owners, attorneys, bank executives, and USF President Judy Genshaft."

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Day to Day, October 11, 2005 � Day to Day personal finance contributor Michelle Singletary talks with Madeleine Brand about teaching children about the importance of charitable giving, and about deciding how much to give."

Daily News Transcript - Arts & Culture News: "Walpole resident Alix Parkinson, a junior at The Rivers School in Weston, was recently honored as a member of the school's Rivers Givers at the 2005 Youth Grantmakers Summer Leadership Conference, sponsored by the Council of Michigan Foundations. The Rivers Givers project was nominated as one of the 10 Great Grants finalists of the conference by the youth in attendance, and Rivers students made a special presentation to the entire group regarding the history and accomplishments of the Rivers Givers. "

(CBS) Going stroke for stroke with two adult swimmers, fourth-grader Johnny Wilson made history as the youngest person to ever swim San Francisco Bay from the legendary Alcatraz prison island in just under two hours.

CBS News correspondent Teri Okita reports that 9-year-old Johnny Wilson made it to the shore, telling himself, 'I'm almost there. I'm almost there.' His parents, classmates, teachers and friends cheered him to victory. "

That led Deckard to Quixote Quest, a public service organization exclusively for teens.

She did more than sign up. The city's youngest school board member convinced Quixote Quest Director Frank McGough to establish the fourth and final chapter in Cumberland County.

A dozen teens attended the organization's kickoff meeting Monday at Covenant Presbyterian Church. These high school students will be required to attend two monthly meetings and devote two hours each week to volunteer service."

Daily Local News - News - 10/11/2005 - Foundation honors county leaders: "• Troy Czukoski and Richard Kaskey will accept the Acorn Award on behalf of the Phoenixville Area School District. The district started a Youth and Philanthropy Program to give students greater understanding of the necessity and responsibility of giving back to the community whenever they can, the foundation said."

Stephanie Lowe
oakland park
Posted October 9 2005
On Sept. 24, I volunteered at a Katrina benefit concert entirely organized by local high school students and recent grads.

Through the course of the day, as bands from western suburbs played and were cheered by students from the east side and vice versa, area residents stopped by to peek in and smile. It was loud and modern music, yet not a complaint. Everyone understood upon seeing the handmade Katrina signs that these kids were extraordinary."

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Tuesday, October 11, 2005 12:36 AM CDT

Fifty-five years ago, a youth group in Philadelphia brought along milk cartons as they went door to door to trick-or-treat. In those cartons they collected coins for UNICEF, an organization established four years earlier by the United Nations to meet the emergency needs of children in post-war Europe and China, which in 1950 was extended to addressing long-term needs of women and children in developing countries around the globe."

Thursday, October 06, 2005

The Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts urges area residents to “pay forward” any good fortune they have.

In an effort to help residents become more involved in their community and its needs, the council will sponsor Pay It Forward Day on Nov. 20 at its new program activity center on Yellowbrick Road in Farmingdale, according to Kelly McAllister, membership development director of the Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts.

“The goal of Pay It Forward Day,” McAllister said, “is to encourage the girls and the community to become more involved by exposing them to a wide variety of volunteer opportunities that reflect diverse interests and personalities.”

According to McAllister, the Girl Scouts is a national organization dedicated to building courageous, caring and compassionate citizens."

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

PENDLETON — Sherwood Heights Elementary School fourth-grader Brenna Haney was so concerned about the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita that she donated all her saved pennies to a fund at Bank of the West. She just hopes it’s enough."

DesMoinesRegister.com: "Twins double up for donationsThe south-side boys, along with their dad, plan to camp on a roof to raise money.

By LINDA YANGREGISTER CORRESPONDENT

October 4, 2005

The roof of a grocery store is not your average campout location. Then again, Grant and Austin Smith are not your average kids.

At 7 years old, the twins are philanthropic powerhouses, and, once again, they're on a mission. This time the goal is to raise $7,500 for Hurricane Katrina victims and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation."

Monday, October 03, 2005

What started as a fun community-service project for her Sonoma State University sorority has blossomed into a deep commitment for Sarah Scudder.

Back in 2001 when she was a freshman, as philanthropy coordinator for the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, Scudder called the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County. With 60 energetic coeds at her disposal, she was looking for a big project."

courant.com | Kids On Crusades: "Kids On Crusades
Hurricane Relief Efforts Just Part Of Dramatic Rise In Youthful Volunteers
October 3, 2005
By JOANN KLIMKIEWICZ, The Hartford Courant

All summer long, Devon Aldave wanted to organize a carwash in his West Hartford neighborhood. 'Just for fun,' the 8-year-old says with a shrug when asked to explain. But, as do many childhood impulses, the notion faded with the summer.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

LBReport.com:snip snip> "Youth have the opportunity to become meaningfully engaged in civic issues and in matters that affect them through a membership on the City’s Commission on Youth and Children, on district level youth councils, and through participation in an innovative youth philanthropy program. Long Beach is home to an outstanding, accredited community college, as well as a world-class state university. A seamless education initiative links the nationally recognized Long Beach Unified School District (2003 Broad Prize for Urban Education) with both the community college and university systems."

The first is The Giving Book by Ellen Sabin (Watering Can Press, $19.95). The second is PricewaterhouseCoopers' Guide to Charitable Giving by Michael B. Kennedy, Evelyn M. Capassakis and Richard S. Wagman (John Wiley & Sons, $19.95).

Let me focus first on Sabin's book. This 64-page, spiral-bound volume is full of fun activities intended to teach children ages 6 to 11 the importance of philanthropy. It is also partly a journal, and children are encouraged to write essays that get them to answer such questions as what are they thankful for or how they would help people in certain situations.

Most important, the activities in the book aren't just centered on one act of charity. While it's commendable that so many people are helping Katrina victims, it's better if that generosity becomes ingrained."

“I believe it made a greater impact on them as they realized that these people had truly lost everything, including the basic essentials of food and water.”
Elaine Ferguson

The devastation on the Gulf Coast trained the spotlight on charitable giving and convinced millions of kids to pitch in and help.

Like many of you, over the past few weeks I’ve read dozens of stories about kids holding garage sales or selling cookies, candy and lemonade to raise money for hurricane relief. They’ve donated old clothes or toys buried in the closet, and loaded trucks to the rafters with food and water. Their compassion has been amazing."

As the cost of attending college continues to rise, Penn State students are taking a stand through the new Student Philanthropy Council to acknowledge those who have given back and contributed to the Penn State community.

Lauren Steinberg, the group's adviser, said the council would serve as a student-run organization to help create awareness for philanthropy at Penn State."

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In new program sponsored by local philanthropist, university students are charged with giving away $10,000 to a good cause. It's not as easy as it sounds.

Date published: 9/26/2005

By KELLY HANNON

Turn 28 college students loose with $10,000 and see where the money goes.

At the University of Mary Washington, a new economics of philanthropy and nonprofit management class does exactly this, with one caveat: The money must go to a Fredericksburg-area nonprofit organization at the end of the semester."

The Mendocino County Youth Philanthropy Board invites new members to join the board. This is an opportunity for youth, ages 16 to 24, to make a positive difference in communities throughout the county. As board members, youth will award financial grants to other youth to run community service projects.

Youth are invited to attend an informational meeting on Thursday, Sept. 29 from 4 to 5 p.m. at one of two locations: Mendocino County Office of Education, Southeast Room, 2240 Old River Road, Ukiah, and the John Diedrich Center, 208 Dana St., Fort Bragg.

For more information, contact Kathleen Swain at 467-5590 to reserve a spot."

The Oviedo High School junior watched on television as Harvey Jackson of Biloxi, Miss., described Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters tearing his house apart and sweeping his wife away from him. With tears in her eyes, Amber turned to her mother and asked whether she could go to the Gulf Coast."

TOWNSEND -- A Townsend mother and her teenage son are working to make a caring difference in the lives of displaced students from the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast as they are forced to relocate to new communities.

Ellen Marie Theep, and her son Will Stankiewicz, have started 'Kids Helping Katrina's Kids.' Theep said, 'It was a brainchild that happened in my kitchen.'

Their effort will be to collect money to fill backpacks or already filled backpacks for the students who will be absorbed into Texas school systems due to Katrina's wrath."

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

As our nation's leading first responders tackle the monumental catastrophe left by Hurricane Katrina, young people across the country want to know how they can contribute to the relief efforts. As with past disasters of this magnitude young people have always stepped forward to lend a hand, raise money, and offer their support to the people affected by disasters .

In the wake of Katrina there are a large number of organizations across the country that are mobilizing their resources to provide assistance to those in need. The primary need of all of these organizations is money as most have a ready group of individuals with the technical skills needed at this point – search & rescue, medical, security, etc. These organizations are also deploying additional resources such as food, medical supplies, clothing, and other necessities. In order to help the huge numbers of displaced people, they seek the monetary contributions to continue to meet these basic needs.

As a young person there is a lot that you can do to help in this effort. As many young people did during the Southeast Asia Tsunami, you can conduct creative fundraisers to support the organization that does the work you care about most. You can support organizations that find homes for those displaced, feed the hungry, care for lost pets, clean up polluted environments, etc. Youth Service America provides you with a list of organizations that are mobilizing to support the relief effort. You can find this list by scrolling down to Disaster Relief Organizations."

11th Annual Search Under Way for Wyoming's Top Youth Volunteers
Tuesday September 6, 8:43 am ET
State Honorees Receive Cash Awards, Medallions and Trip to Washington, D.C., for National Events
Lyman and Jackson Youth Were Wyoming's Honorees in 2005

CHEYENNE, Wyo., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past 10 years, Prudential Spirit of Community Awards have been given to more than 200 middle level and high school students across Wyoming for helping the less fortunate, promoting health and safety, protecting the environment, and serving their communities through many other volunteer activities. This week the search begins to identify more young Wyoming residents who have made meaningful contributions to their communities over the past 12 months, as the prestigious awards program kicks off its 11th year."

Opening the schoolhouse doors and getting students to work in their communities is gaining traction among educators nationally. But the concept goes way beyond holding down an after-school job, or working to fulfill a community service requirement. The new thinking ties service learning to the curriculum, so that school and work are both meaningful and relevant.In Littleton, service learning is getting a closer look. Spearheaded by curriculum Director Nancy Gustafson, community organizations met with teachers last week to brainstorm ways of merging the mission of various nonprofits with curriculum.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 2005--Musicland Group, Inc., one of the nation's leading specialty retailers of music, movies, games and entertainment-related products, today announced a partnership with teen organization, Do Something to offer BUILD magazine, free of charge, to youth that shop Sam Goody stores. The magazine is the only youth-oriented, public service magazine with national distribution.

Starting this week, youth interested in making a difference in their community can pick up a copy of BUILD at nationwide Sam Goody stores. The issue, featuring Kanye West on the cover, celebrates young people changing their world. Regular features of the magazine include articles about celebrities who are working to change the world, suggestions on how to get involved in the community, and profiles of young leaders and their amazing philanthropic efforts. The magazine's goal is to provide young people with the tools, inspiration and motivation to make a difference in the world by celebrating the good works of others."

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

NGfL: News: " UK pupils fit for charity action
A charity which began in South Wales schools has been adopted throughout the UK with the backing of the British and Irish Lions after it proved such a success.

The aim of Schoolchildren for Children is to motivate schoolchildren to walk, jog or run a minimum of one mile to raise �1.

Half the money is spent on extra-curricular equipment and sports activities, while the remaining 50 per cent goes towards providing education in developing countries for books, feeding programmes and gap-year placements in the third world."

CROWN POINT | Philanthropy is the giving of your time, talent and treasure for the good of someone or something else. Working with fifth- and sixth-graders from MacArthur Elementary School last spring, the Crown Point Community Foundation helped young students understand the meaning of philanthropy."

Not Your Father's Foundation: "Not Your Father's Foundation
Young philanthropists have their own ideas about what causes to back -- and they aren't always the ones favored by their families

Danielle Durchslag, an effervescent 24-year-old who hopes to become a professional photographer, grew up in a family that has a motto of its own: 'Nothing will ever be accomplished if all objections must first be overcome.' Those are the words of her great-grandfather, Nathan Cummings, founder of Sara Lee (SLE )."

REX C. CURRY/Special ContributorSamara Kline and her son Ryan are working with a fund that encourages donation of bar or bat mitzvah gifts to charity.

The words of Proverbs 22:6 take on new meaning with Donor Advised Funds, an approach to raising money for charity that has been established by bar mitzvah-age youth through the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation.

K-Help (Kids Helping Everyone Live Peacefully) is what 25 young people at Greenhill School have named their fund, one of the newest in the program.

When I mention to a friend that I am dropping my son off at community service, she looks distressed. 'Is he in trouble?' she asks. Another friend has the same reaction, offering condolences about teenage behavior.

At first I don't get it. My son is fulfilling his high school's community service requirement by volunteering in a soup kitchen. Why would anyone think that's a problem? Then the light dawns. In the age of Jennifer Wilbanks and other white-collar criminals sentenced to volunteer work instead of jail time, community service has become a synonym for punishment. Service has become a dirty word."

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Party guests told to give gifts to Make-A-Wish; more than $2,000 raised

DAVID PERLMUTT | STAFF WRITER

John and Cathy Humphries are brother and sister, born eight months apart -- Cathy is adopted -- and so similar in thought their physician mother calls them 'virtual twins.'

Both are rising seventh-graders at Charlotte Country Day School. They share interests, including soccer, and some friends. So it seems appropriate that they would celebrate their birthdays together, somewhere between their birth dates: John turned 12 on June 11, Cathy turns 13 on Oct. 4."

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

A STUDENT from Beaconsfield, who raised more than �1,000 for the tsunami fund, is travelling to Sri Lanka to help rebuild a village destroyed in the disaster.

Melissa Brandon, 20, of Grove Road, and her friend Jessica Bloomfield, 21, from Somerset, have given up their summer holidays to work for the charity in charge of helping to rebuild the small fishing village of Ambalangoda, near the city of Galle.

Melissa said: 'I am really looking forward to it seeing where the money we raised has gone.

'We will be doing all sorts of things like helping rebuild and helping out in the orphanage.'"

'Our mission is to alleviate the hardships in the Delta. If you're trying to buy food and gas and pay the bills, something is going to lack. These kids need their school supplies,' said Veronica Lowe, an Itta Bena worker with Americorps VISTA, which helped coordinate the event.

The students, from Amanda Elzy, Leflore County and Greenwood high schools, raised $400 over three weeks for the project. "

Howard County Times:snip snip>"Siegel, who will be a senior at Wilde Lake High School, was getting a tour on a recent Wednesday of the nature reserve's grounds. This was in preparation for her temporary role as a youth board member for the conservancy.

As part of Leadership Howard County's pilot Youth on Board program, Siegel is one of nine high school students who have been selected to work on the boards of local nonprofits for the next year, committing about five hours a month."

'Try to use a soft voice, and try not to run,' Peter Dang instructs a young boy and girl before opening the wooden gate to the Woodland Park Zoo's petting area. 'It'll scare the animals.'

The lanky 17-year-old Lake Washington High School senior patiently repeats the instructions to each group of children who visit the goats, demonstrating how they should touch the animals by patting the back of a nearby model that's covered with hair."

Monday, August 08, 2005

: "Parents need to first determine how much they want to spend on their kids' clothing and school supplies, then subtract any essential items you want to ensure are bought. Then tell your teen how much money she'll have to spend at the store.

Next, you and your teen should go through his closet to assess what's needed. 'Taking an inventory of the closet is not a bad thing to do before you go,' Gurney said, to determine how much and which items are needed. It's also a good opportunity to teach teens about charitable giving. 'What charity do you want me to give it to?' That's a great thing to do.'"

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Reed Stockman serves as chief content curator
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